Buckland says Horsham YMCA are taking the FA Vase very seriously

Horsham YMCA manager Peter Buckland has stressed that he will take the FA Vase competition very seriously, following his side’s 3-0 win over Snodland Town in the first qualifying round.

Having been knocked out in the third round of last year’s competition, Buckland wants his side to get even further this time round, with Wembley in his sights, and is delighted with the start they have made.

Goals from Luke Gedling, Kieron Pamment and Dave Brown on Saturday saw YM through to the second qualifying round where they will host Langney Wanderers at the HFL Stadium.

Buckland said: “I take it seriously, I stick with my trusted formation and I pick what I perceive to be the best 11 for that game and the opposition.

“We had a potential banana skin against Snodland because I think they have had five successive promotions to get themselves into step six, so they are very much a club going forward and they are top of their league.

“The pleasing thing is we’ve won the game by three goals, kept a clean sheet and controlled the game and that’s all you can ask for.

“We’ve got Langney Wanderers at home in the next round and we’ve got a good chance of progressing.

“They are a good side, it will be a tough challenge. I expect and want to win it.”

The YM boss is also optimistic ahead of Saturday’s upcoming league fixture, when they take on Eastbourne United in the Premier Division, and has set his aims highly for the season.

He added: “Eastbourne United is always a tough game but I’m confident we can get three points out of it.

“It’s early doors and I don’t really start looking at the table positions until the end of October but everyone seems to be beating everyone.

“Surprising results keep cropping up and you can only take each game as it comes. I want to win the league 100 per cent, everything else is secondary.”